Toyota Corolla (E10)

The Corolla E10 was the first generation of cars marketed by Toyota under the Corolla name. The Corolla was launched in Japan in November 1966 at a Japanese dealership sales channel called Toyota Corolla Store. Eiji Toyoda said it took hard work to create popular demand, and disputed that Toyota rode a wave of private car ownership that was taking off in the mid-1960s. The Corolla's major competitor was the Datsun 1000, released a few months earlier, along with the Subaru 1000 earlier in May. Its companion, the Toyota Sprinter, was sold at a different dealership sales channel called Toyota Auto Store. The Corolla's development was largely influenced by the success and lessons learned from an earlier, smaller vehicle called the Toyota Publica, which used an air-cooled two-cylinder, boxer engine, inspired by the Citroën 2CV. The dealership that was named after the Corolla in Japan was previously known as the Toyota Public Store, to sell the Publica.